ANNUAL REPORT July 2017- June 2018

NILD-SA NON-PROFIT COMPANY (NPC)

PST and Directors:

The Professional Support Team (PST) consists of the following members: Leone Jenkinson, Santie Smit, Jacquie Johnston, Susan Garrard, Shireen Archibald and Louise van Eck. Currently, the members of the PST are also the Board of Directors of the NPC. The PST meets monthly, to discuss issues relating to NILD in South Africa.

The PST focused on the following issues over the past year:

The NILD-SA website has been updated every month.

An NILD-SA Facebook page was linked to the NILD-SA website.

Articles have been posted on the website on a regular basis.

A payment portal was set up on the website, making paying for courses, membership, and materials much easier for our members.

We have continued with the process of registering with SAQA and SACE.

We have worked at improving the support we offer our Members.

Level 1 and 2 Training courses have been offered in the new “Online” format.

All the members of the PST registered as Dyslexia Therapists with IDA.

The Woodcock-Johnson IV was purchased. NILD-SA members, who have completed their Level 3 training and the WJ training workshop, will be allowed to loan the WJ IV for a small fee.

4 ladies have had the opportunity to receive training as Intern Instructors.

The Rainbow books were updated by Bridget Wren.

The Afrikaans Rainbow books were updated by Santie Smit and Louise van Eck.

The first PST Strategic Planning meeting was held in February 2018.

Application was made to SARS for Tax Exemption status, and it was granted.

SARS required NILD-SA to make changes to its Constitution, and this was done.

The Licence Agreement between NILD-USA and NILD-SA was signed.

Training courses:

The transition to the new “Online” format of the Levels 1-3 training courses has required a great deal of work for the Instructors, but it seems as though the courses are being well received by the Participants. There have been a few teething problems, but these are being addressed.

Our Members are encouraged to make use of the various training opportunities we offer. The following training courses have been offered throughout South Africa during the past year:

Level 1 Educational Therapy

Level 2 Educational Therapy

Search and Teach

Rx for Discovery Maths

Rx for Discovery Reading

We plan to offer the following courses in the coming year, and details and application forms will be posted on the website (www.nildsa.co.za): Level 1, 2 & 3 Educational Therapy, Search and Teach, Rx for Discovery Maths, Rx for Discovery Reading.

Area Support Groups:

Area Support Group (ASG) meetings were held quarterly in Cape Town, KZN South Coast, Durban and Johannesburg. NILD-SA Members are required to attend a minimum of 2 of these meetings per year. These meetings offer support and ongoing training for our members.

The following topics were covered during these meetings:

Rx for Discovery Reading demo

Phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle

WEBINAR: Overcoming Dyslexia

Behavioural and Emotional Issues: Obstacles to Learning

Quarterly Skype meetings were held with the ASG leaders to keep them informed about the developments within NILD-SA, and to give them support where necessary. The ASG leaders for the various areas are:

Cape Town: Santie Smit/Sue Garrard

KZN South Coast: Lynn Aron

KZN Durban: Shireen Archibald

Johannesburg: Julia Penfold

Membership:

We ended our July 2017 – June 2018 year with 49 Active and Non-Active members throughout South Africa.

Finances:

NILD-SA’s first audit was conducted at the end of October 2017. NILD-SA was awarded Tax Exempt status by SARS. Income is generated through training fees, membership fees, as well as materials sold to members.

Our main expenses over the past year were:

Costs incurred to run the training courses

New materials, and updating materials

Annual affiliation and royalty fees to NILD-USA

Website maintenance

The establishment of the Payment portal on the website

Purchasing the Woodcock Johnson test of Achievement IV

We are making provision for the following in the next financial year:

Consulting fees to assist with the registration process with SAQA and SACE

Annual affiliation fees (NILD-USA)

Covering the costs of our Conference in July 2019

Covering the costs of Kristin Barbour’s visit in July 2019

In closing…

The PST would like to take this opportunity to applaud NILD-SA members for the exceptional work they do in the lives of children across South Africa – their passion, dedication and commitment to transforming the lives of academically vulnerable children is an inspiration!

Leone Jenkinson

Santie Smit

Jacquie Johnston

Louise van Eck

Sue Garrard

Shireen Archibald

The Annual report is also available in PDF format for your convenience.